The Coal Tattoo - Hardcover

House, Silas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1565123689 ISBN 13: 9781565123687

Publisher: Algonquin Books, 2004

Synopsis

Two sisters can't stand to live together, but can't bear to be apart. One worships the flashy world of Nashville, the other is a devout Pentecostal. One falls into the lap of any man, the other is afraid to even date. One gets pregnant in a flash, the other desperately wants to have child.

This is what's at the heart of Silas House's third, masterful novel, which tells the story of Easter and Anneth, tragically left parentles as children, who must raise themselves and each other in their small coal-mining town. Easter is deeply religious, keeps a good home, believes in tradition, and is intent on rearing her wild younger sister properly. Anneth is untamable, full of passion, determined to live hard and fast. It's only a matter of time before their predilections split their paths and nearly undo their bond. How these two women learn to overcome their past, sacrifice deeply for each other, and live together again in the only place that matters is the story of The Coal Tattoo.

Silas House's work has been described as compelling, seamless, breathtaking, heartbreaking, eloquent, stunningly beautiful, and exquisite. In The Coal Tattoo, he raises the bar once again.

About this title

Book Description:

In coal country, when a miner survives the collapse of a mine, he'll often surface with a permanent mark stamped onto his skin--a greenish blue imprint, sometimes jagged-edge, sometimes smooth--a symbol of endurance and sacrifice. A coal tattoo. In Silas House's new novel, everyone who's raised in Black Banks is indelibly marked by and forever connected to the place, which is how it is for Anneth and Easter.

At the heart of The Coal Tattoo is the story of these two sisters who can't live together, but can't bear to be apart. Left to raise themselves in a small coal mining town in Tennessee, Anneth and Easter are as different as night and day. One worships the flashy world of Nashville, the other is a devout Pentecostal. One falls into the lap of any man, the other is too afraid to date. Both are looking for a way to come to terms with their mother's abandonment. Anneth, just sixteen, takes off to Nashville and elopes, while Easter, weathering her own young marriage, faces a crisis of faith.

For both sisters, their journey will bring them back to the land and to each other.

About the Author:

Silas House is the author of five novels. His book for middle-grade readers, Same Sun Here, was a finalist for the E. B. White Read-Aloud award. A frequent contributor to the New York Times and a former commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, House is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and is the winner of the Nautilus Award, the Appalachian Writers Association's Book of the Year, and other honors.

About this edition

• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1565123689
• ISBN 13: 9781565123687
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336